My dear witch, please turn evil according to the script!

Chapter 391 Just Smile

The entire Thorn Squad moved forward in an unusually silent manner.

Everyone was on edge, keeping their heads down and hurrying along, not daring to make any unnecessary noise.

Even though that lord did not pursue their previous offensive words and comments, his chilling smile and the imposing aura that instilled subconscious fear still kept these demon warriors, who had been charging on the most dangerous front lines, from uttering a sound.

Even the captain, Cologne, and the vice-captain, Reinitz, were no exception.

At this moment, Cellina, who was walking in the middle of the group, leaned close to Roland's ear and whispered, "Roland, they seem to be afraid of you... even though you've been so friendly."

"Haha, is it really that friendly?" Roland chuckled, turning to look at Cellina. "This is a little trick I learned from His Majesty Salah. It's a so-called secret he sent to Isfar through an official who came to take up his post."

"For example, keep smiling when appropriate, and never let anyone see your true thoughts."

"The unknown is the most frightening thing."

"Now it seems these techniques are quite effective, aren't they?"

Cellina said with some surprise, "I thought you would use a gentler approach to integrate into the team and get them to follow your orders."

"Why?" Roland looked at Cellina with some surprise. "Do you think I'm the kind of person who would choose to use this method?"

“Hmm…isn’t that right?” Cherlinina turned her head away, not daring to look at Roland’s expression.

From her perspective, Roland was undoubtedly a truly gentle person... It was this way of doing things that surprised her.

Roland guessed roughly from Cellina's reaction: "Ah~~~ So that's what you think of me."

"But this is how you treat friends and family, not subordinates."

"Not to mention……"

“Sometimes, especially when others have a problem with you, it is a very foolish thing to show weakness or try to be nice.”

As he spoke, Roland began to scan his surroundings.

He did not lower or hide the volume of his voice as he had done before.

When the words "I have an opinion" reached the ears of the surrounding demon warriors, Cherinina could clearly see them trembling involuntarily.

However, she didn't pay much attention to their reactions at the moment.

She was more interested in knowing the answer to Roland's question.

Friends and family...

Which one am I?

The thought of this problem made her feel uneasy, and she couldn't concentrate on anything else.

On the other hand, Polycia exclaimed "Oh!" as if she had just learned something, and looked excited and eager to try it out.

In this subtle atmosphere, the group began their journey at a leisurely pace.

Soon, they saw the fog beginning to spread.

A full half hour had passed between the alarm sounding and the arrival of the group at the scene.

The fog was no longer content to stay in one place and began to spread in all directions.

Captain Cologne breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this, but instead of rushing into action, he turned to Roland and respectfully bowed his head, asking, "Sir, although the fog has begun to spread, it is still under control... Can we begin our operation?"

"If we don't hurry, the fog will spread further and it won't be something that our small stabilizers can handle."

Roland looked at Cologne with a smile: "No rush, my friend."

"Tell me first about... the state of the fog at each stage, what phenomena it produces, and what methods you will use to resolve it."

"Finally, after the further diffusion phenomenon you mentioned occurs, how do you usually resolve the fog of diffusion?"

"Answer me, and then we'll begin."

"otherwise……"

Roland said this, then silently activated the Eternal Runestone he had just acquired, and began to use his mental power to exert pressure on everyone around him except for Polycia and Cellina.

boom! ! ! ! !
The terrifying fluctuations of mental energy, under the operation of Roland's innate technique, perfectly demonstrated their true function for the first time.

The rules of reality began to distort under Roland's mental interference. Magic no longer operated in an orderly manner, the principles of magic no longer applied, and even gravity could no longer bind living beings to the earth.

Fortunately... this chaotic state lasted for less than a second.

Realizing that something was wrong with his condition, Roland almost instantly canceled the activation of the Eternal Runestone and simultaneously lifted his mental suppression.

But this brief, less than one-second intimidation was enough to silence all the demon warriors present.

They even forgot how to answer questions.

They had absolutely no idea what had happened in that short period of time.

Although the time was so short that it wasn't even enough to blink, they could perceive that the rules of the world had been changed in that instant.

Meanwhile, Cellina, who was standing next to Roland, was more concerned about Roland's condition.

She was lost in thought when she suddenly felt Roland's aura and presence become cold and unfamiliar. Although she recovered quickly, the aura she had just felt still sent chills down her spine.

but……

She didn't rush to ask questions, but listened quietly as Cologne, who had just recovered, explained the knowledge about the fog.

According to Cologne's account, the development of the Mist has four stages, as recorded in the Demon Clan's accounts.

The first stage is the simplest, which is when the fog has just appeared and the area remains stationary. In this stage, as long as you arrive at the scene in time to insert the stabilizer, the fog can be cleared.

The second stage is the type that Roland has seen once before, where unidentified entities begin to form within the mist, but the mist itself does not begin to spread.

This stage is quite easy to resolve; it doesn't even require eliminating the generated entities. As long as the entities are prevented from damaging the stabilizer, they can be removed.

The third stage is the state Roland is currently facing: the physical entity has temporarily disappeared, and the mist has begun to slowly spread outwards.

If left unchecked, the fog will continue to spread. Once it reaches a certain range, extremely threatening and bizarre entities will be generated within the fog, requiring combat power at an extraordinary level to eliminate them.

Furthermore, the third stage of the fog will severely affect the magical environment within the fog's range, and it cannot return to normal until the fog is cleared.

Similarly, if a stabilizer is inserted before the third-stage fog generates entities, the fog in the early stages of the third stage will be successfully removed, just like the fog in the second stage.

But if you start generating entities...

To dispel the fog of the third stage, all the strange entities within the fog's range must be eliminated. After completely clearing them out, three large stabilizers, requiring massive mechanical transport, must be deployed to disperse the fog.

As for the fourth stage, that was a scene that these young demons had never seen before.

It is said that it only appeared three hundred years ago after the Demon King's fall.

It was precisely because of that upheaval that Enva's current magical environment was created.

Although the situation deteriorated rapidly thirty years ago, it was extremely difficult to use communication magic after the great catastrophe three hundred years ago.

It just became completely unusable thirty years ago.

However, according to surviving records, when the fog disaster reached its final stage, it could no longer be removed by human effort.

The great calamity three hundred years ago was only barely contained and exiled to the unknown borders beyond the world by the patriarch of the carrion eaters and a mysterious traveler working together.

But the chieftain of the carrion must also wage an endless battle within that border to prevent the disaster from returning.

After listening to Cologne's explanation, Roland nodded, indicating that he was free to act as he pleased.

For now, however, he has no time to think about the fog.

He simply noted down this information, intending to think about it later.

All of this is the consequence of the brief use of that Eternal Runestone.

It truly does, as the system states, not impose any burden on the body, nor does it require paying for power in a way that endangers life or harms health.

It can even be activated permanently if you wish, unlike the Sun Rune which only provides a temporary boost and requires additional magic to activate.

What the system didn't mention was that this rune stone would affect a person's spirit, thinking, and personality.

That's right. If you want, you can keep activating this rune stone to obtain that indescribable amplification.

However, the user's emotions, thoughts, and mental energy will all be treated as consumables.

In that less than one second of use, Roland's emotions began to fade, and his thinking became extremely rational. He subconsciously assigned value to everything and weighed it on a scale.

He became less like a person and more like a detached bystander.

A spectator high above, watching the changing world.

For Roland at that time, everything began to lose its meaning.

Just like everything eventually fades away with time, reaching its end and its conclusion.

Whether it's people, things, gods, or the world... everything will eventually come to an end.

Only he, only the holder of this runestone, will enjoy "eternity".

Therefore, everything is meaningless.

Everything fell into nothingness.

This is clearly a dangerous situation.

At least Roland, and the once invincible war god, thought so.

The brief use and timely cancellation allowed Roland to become aware of the changes in his emotions and thoughts, and then promptly stop using it.

But what if... he really keeps this state enabled all the time?

What happens after the status is canceled?
Will this situation continue, or will it return to normal?

But after undergoing a long period of ideological transformation, can one return to normal?
Once you're truly in that state... can a person still be considered a human being?
Or, after feeling that everything is meaningless, after the soul and spirit have been worn away in eternal nothingness, can the physical body left in the world still be considered alive?
"No wonder..."

"No wonder that military genius could control the timing of its use."

"Although we have never met, I imagine that person must be a strong person with a firm will and a firm belief in their ideals."

"otherwise……"

Roland looked down at the rune stone shimmering with azure light in his palm.

If someone is truly weak-willed, they would probably be "devoured" by it after only one or two uses.

When Roland looked at the runestone, he discovered that within its azure light was a small black vortex.

However, the azure radiance was so intense that it obscured its existence.

Just as the immense power it brings also carries unspoken costs and dangers.

(End of this chapter)